Incheon 'Half-Price Delivery' Reaches 500,000 Shipments in 8 Months... Small Business Sales Rise

On June 19, Incheon City announced that the 'Small Business Half-Price Delivery' project had achieved 500,000 deliveries and signed contracts with 6,000 businesses within eight months of its launch.

This project, first implemented nationwide by Incheon City in October last year, supports local small businesses by providing parcel delivery services at half the standard market rate.

Any small business owner in Incheon can deliver goods for as low as 1,500 won by bringing items directly to a collection center located at a subway station within the city. If items are picked up from the business location, the service is available starting from 2,500 won. These rates are 25% to 50% lower than the average market parcel delivery fee.

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jungbok is sending the first half-price parcel at the 'Small Business Half-Price Delivery Support Project' opening event held at Incheon City Hall Station on Incheon Subway Line 1. 2024.10.28 Incheon City

The project has continued to grow steadily, receiving strong support from small business owners. In fact, the monthly delivery volume increased by about 158%, from 31,308 cases in October last year, when the project began, to 80,889 cases as of the end of last month. In particular, the number of half-price parcels handled through subway collection centers surged by 450%, from 6,965 in November 2023 to 38,282 at the end of May last year.

According to a survey conducted by Incheon City in March among small business owners using the half-price delivery service, 32.7% newly entered online shopping malls, and the average sales per business increased by 13.9%, demonstrating the project's positive impact.

Currently, Incheon City operates collection centers at 30 stations on Subway Lines 1 and 2, and plans to expand the number of collection center locations to a total of 60 stations starting in October.

An official from Incheon City stated, "We will continue to expand the installation of collection centers without any setbacks so that small business owners can reduce their delivery costs and enhance their competitiveness in the online shopping market."